An Extraordinary Day

Today was an extraordinary day.  Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States.  This is an incredible moment and part of a movement in this country toward hope, progress, and civility.  I do not consider myself a cynic by any stretch of the imagination, but I am overwhelmed at this moment.  The beauty of the day, the majestic speech, and the peaceful transition of power captivates me.  

On this day of hope and anticipation, I hope that days like these are far more ordinary than extraordinary in the future.  I do not mean that we don't celebrate when history is made, but rather that we make history more often.  That we continue to elect Presidents, Senators, Representatives, and Governors who understand that we are citizens of the world and have a great burden as the most powerful economic and military nation in the world.  That leaders will be as civil, well-spoken, and honorable as Obama.  I hope that his example will inspire a generation of decent and honorable women and men to pursue their dreams and become public servants.  I hope that one day we will look back on this extraordinary day and recognize that it began a series of extraordinary days that transformed our country and world.  That one day extraordinary days will be ordinary.  

I sit awash in the amazing events that have transpired over the past year, and indeed over all of history, and I thank God that I am alive to witness this moment.  My prayers are with the Obamas, and my hope is that we as a country can rise to this occasion.  Most of all, I am proud that my soon to be born son August will be born and grow up in a nation that reached beyond its hurtful past to move toward the future.  I am proud to work for that future with the same determination that those in the past gave so that we might enjoy this moment.  This day was for all of us, and it was for August.  Yes we did, yes we will, yes we can.